In many styles of dance, the dancer performs dance moves on the tip of a dance shoe. There are numerous movements including variations of toe stands and toe drops. These movements occur in all genre of dance: pointe, ballet, tap, jazz, character, modern, hip hop, and the like. There have been innovations that have helped the dancer achieve a more stable or prolonged position “en pointe” or on the tip toes. These prior innovations include adding a platform or similar type of flat surface to the toe area of the dance shoe to help execute the movements. This solution has been previously applied to pointe shoes and dance sneakers. Until now, there has not been the same innovation adapted for, and applied to, tap shoes.
While performing, practicing or studying the art of tap dance, the dancer may be required to stand on the toe or tip of the shoe. To execute this motion, the dancer lifts upwards and forwards through their body and their feet using their shoe as a tool to get them on pointe and keep them there. The shoe protects the foot and provides strength to the foot in order to complete this motion. Due to the nature of tap shoes as they have traditionally been made, the dancer is forced to stand on the rounded front portion of the tap which is mounted on the sole of the shoe. This is prohibitive to achieving optimal balance and affects both short and prolonged toe stands. It also hinders the ability of the dancer to string dance moves and motions together while “en pointe”, because the rounded tip forces the dancer to unnecessarily work harder in order to achieve the proper body alignment and position. Extra effort is required to maintain proper and safe technique and produce the required/desired sound to achieve the art as it is meant to be heard and seen. Since there is no safe area for the dancer to balance on existing taps and related footwear, there is an added risk for injury while performing such intricate and technical footwork and body motion.
In addition to utilizing the tap in the front or toe portion of the shoe, tap dancers also utilize the side portions of the sole of the shoe. There are dance movements that require dancers to produce sounds while engaging in scuffing movements using the inside and outside edge of the shoe's sole. Since the sound producing metal tap portion of a tap shoe does not always extend to be flush with the edge of the shoe's sole construction, for reasons varying from shoe size to last shape, producing a sound utilizing the edge of the sides of the foot can be difficult. The toe tap is frequently arranged further in towards the center of the ball of the foot of the shoe, leaving an area of the sole of the shoe exposed around the tap, i.e. framing the tap, preventing it from being easily accessible at the edges of the shoe. In order to access this area of the foot, and thereby generating the tapping sound, the dancer must twist the foot and ankle into positions that can create injury, either immediately, or over time. While the motion and desired sound result is achievable, the tap shoes used to achieve it could be improved upon to reduce the possibility of injury.